Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 38,710 Shares of Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SWX) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,696,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,710 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Southwest Gas worth $473,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Gas by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $874,000 after purchasing an additional 2,541 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Southwest Gas by 178.3% during the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 12,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 7,699 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Southwest Gas during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,937,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Southwest Gas by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 22,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Southwest Gas by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 11,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. 92.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Southwest Gas Trading Up 0.1 %

Southwest Gas stock opened at $71.90 on Wednesday. Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.31 and a 12 month high of $80.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Southwest Gas (NYSE:SWX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.35 billion. Southwest Gas had a net margin of 3.44% and a return on equity of 5.99%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southwest Gas Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Southwest Gas’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Southwest Gas news, major shareholder Carl C. Icahn sold 2,100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.60, for a total value of $156,660,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,532,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,932,258.40. The trade was a 21.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SWX. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $73.00 price objective on shares of Southwest Gas in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Southwest Gas from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Southwest Gas in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Southwest Gas to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.00.

Southwest Gas Profile

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc, through its subsidiaries, distributes and transports natural gas in Arizona, Nevada, and California. The company operates through Natural Gas Distribution, Utility Infrastructure Services, and Pipeline and Storage segments. It also provides trenching, installation, and replacement of underground pipes, as well as maintenance services for energy distribution systems.